How Ukrainians online argue over what counts as "ours"

"Who will fall under financial monitoring this time?" Choose the next victim to have their cards frozen over an undeclared 200-hryvnia transfer

Why "must"? Why spend money on artists like these at all — better give it to talented engineers, it would be more useful to society

Someone still hasn't understood in 2025 how important culture is🫩 If we want to carry our own "propaganda" to the masses, we are obliged to develop culture

Where did you see culture in Eurovision?

Disgusting interface language

What the hell do you care what language someone uses on their phone? I'm so sick of this..

I once had a chance, as part of my studies, to improve Diia. We interviewed the Diia team and asked all sorts of questions before starting. From the interview we realised that voting for Eurovision is the service with the highest user engagement. That is, this very function (voting for the Eurovision candidate) is the one our users use most often 🫠 That's when I understood my misanthropy wasn't enough.

You have to vote or they'll delete your account in Ukraine. I have a friend in prison

The release of this song and people's inadequate reaction to the singer's view prove once again how far Ukrainian "celebrities" are from the real problems of the Ukrainian people.

I'm that very representative of the Ukrainian people and I don't understand what the f*** the problem is. I don't give a damn about the song or the singer overall. Honestly I don't even want to listen. But how did she offend all 28 people who upvoted this news? Better raise money for drones, donate to the armed forces. All this doesn't matter in the slightest.

Coming from someone who doesn't feel any of these problems and can calmly live their best life anywhere, a song like that sounds like mockery)

No power because the Russians are shelling energy infrastructure — 👎 No power because MPs stole the cash — 👍

I remember how at the start everyone laughed at the Russians' attempts to sow "betrayal" through the outages, and now we blame our own without a second thought: MPs, the power companies, now Tina Karol. And who is actually to blame, nobody mentions any more. Dripping water wears away stone.

Most people here think "well, I'm surely smarter than those who fall for Russian propaganda", but they still fall for it one way or another.

Dunno, a song is a song. Topical subject. Why get angry

The celeb is trying to show that "we're in the same tank", but like everyone else I'm more than sure she's fine and has either solved this problem or doesn't feel it like ordinary people. So gestures like this from people like her will never be taken as sincere, only as an attempt to cash in on the situation and get some PR

People are just boiling with anger and, out of helplessness, they lash out at the singer.

I was literally too stunned to speak the first time I listened to it, the warmth and kindness it emanates were just so overwhelming. […] Now excuse me I’ll proceed with bawling my eyes out for the up-tenth time while I have this on repeat.

Is there a lot of hype for this one in Ukraine? I suppose I could see it lending itself to a pretty stunning live performance. Intellectually, I understand why this is a beautiful song, but it's still a bit boring to me.

I see it as a fan favourite among Ukrainians. Almost in every video-reaction it's a winner, this is the winner of the closed auditions for eurofans. But of course, fanbases of other artists will also vote in Vidbir itself (so it would be difficult for Leleka, who is almost noname, to win)

People cry and have goosebumps from it. I'd say the emotional response is bigger than for any other Vidbir song this year.

A dark horse of Vidbir and a stunning discovery for many Ukrainians (both the song and the artist). The lyrics and the message of the song literally hit the nerve -- people hear a much needed hope and light in it, something everyone here desperately needs right now. I'd say Ridnym is this year's My Sea -- a song that connects strongly with the emotional background of the audience and therefore has a fair chance for success.

Ukrainians love the song a lot bc of the message. She's singing about her native home, about building the new hope for Ukraine. It resonates to Ukrainians a lot more than the messages of Jerry's song. Regardless, it's a battle between them two (Monokate is not doing any hype to her song right now). I see both doing incredibly well this year. And Leleka gives a wonderful live performance so I'm not worried about her chances.

This is an international subreddit, and internationally, as I've noticed, Leleka is hardly considered the winner of the Vidbir. But if we're talking about Ukraine (and I'm Ukrainian), it seems to me that she's the main contender for victory. The way I see it (and this is a subjective perception and my bubble), it will be a fight between Jerry and Leleka for first place. Monokate, as far as I can see, doesn't live up to this duel. But we'll see what the live performances will be like.

I have absolutely no idea what people see in that song. It's boring and I would 100% prefer just the whole song being in Ukrainian. […] I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I feel Vidbir this year is significantly weaker than last year, which is crazy because Ukraine almost always delivers. Rooting for Kateryna!!

Poor thing, he's having an energy tragedy, how awful! Can we in the army help his lordship somehow?

This man pays your salaries and supplies equipment. Why devalue his problems? Isn't it in Russia's interest for Ukrainians to quarrel with each other instead of supporting each other?

I'd like to swap back with the gentleman and provide salaries and supply equipment? Can I? Because I'm fed up with being grateful to the economic sector with no family, no normal sleep and no rest.

It was the same last year and the year before. Even before the full-scale invasion people found something to rage at, it's just sharper now, and Eurovision and its contestants are now the easiest target for hate and for speculation on sensitive, painful topics. The national selection is once a year, but you can trash a corrupt official every day — people have "got used" to that, it's the baseline

Why the hell is his backside burning like that? Why on earth did he tie Leleka and Eurovision to the energy situation?

Then I propose we all just sit and be sad that the energy system is screwed. These idiots are so annoying — why not ban smiling too, since the country is at war?

Personally I don't like our tendency to hang labels on people. If he's wrong, argue your answer to him and then post the screenshots. Just posting a screenshot saying "ha-ha idiot" is a bit cringe. For example, one could have replied that winning Eurovision draws attention to Ukraine, including that same energy crisis.

What Euro-VISION if there's no power? Honestly I don't get what's wrong with the post, maybe it's a bit emotional. I think it would be good for our performer to go on stage, switch off all the lights completely and stay silent for 4 minutes, to draw Europeans' attention once more.

Fuck the olympic committee. So many terrible decisions, like allowing Russian athletes to compete, forcing Taiwan to join under a different name, and now banning a Ukranian athlete.

They ban killed athletes and allow those who kill them

On the other hand... Without that ban I would had probably never heard of boxer Pavlo Ischenko, weightlifter Alina Perehudova, ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov, diving athlete and coach Mykyta Kozubenko and dancer Daria Kurdel.

I don't understand the decision. He just wanted to take his dead athlete friends with him on his Olympic journey. I can't see how this is political

I mean, there is no trident, there is no "Slava", it's just people that are in a better place 😢

The war is political. Memorializing athletes who have passed away isn't. His act isn't the political one.

Because they chose to make it political. Its literally would have had zero political impact if they hadn't made it an issue. They just made his message more powerful.

It is a beautiful, meaningful message on that helmet. On the bright side: had the IOC allowed that helmet, it would have gotten a little attention and maybe a few stories. But by banning it, there have been tons of stories and photos of the helmet have been all over social media. Streisand Effect wins again. Glory to Ukraine’s heroes.

It was a smart move by Vladyslav. He was not a serious contender and was not likely to come anywhere close to a medal anyway. By doing this he can get some political attention and have a reason to justify why he didn't win anything again.

Ukraine, the Republic of China(Taiwan) and us friends of you two should consider creating our own Olympics games if the IOC is not going to be respectful and neutral. Lithuania did their own national Olympics in 1938 in protest of Nazi Germany kicking them out of the 1936 Olympics after all.

As a German, I say that this is an utter disgrace! I see no offensive political message that could justify this decision! It's a commemoration to killed friends who would've competed in Cortina as well - nothing else! This is not only an insult to Vladyslav but to every person on his helmet. Meanwhile the murderers and their henchmen are allowed to compete again. Disgusting decisions!

Matthias Steiner, Peking 2008. It was no problem then, why should it be a problem now?

Awful decision by the IOC, made utterly unconscionable by also stripping him of his accreditation, which was just spiteful and vindictive (they have since reinstated it - presumably due to backlash - although he still can’t compete of course). But an absolute masterclass in the world of dignified responses. “This is the price of our dignity.” 🇺🇦

On what grounds? Isn't Twitch obliged to comply with [sanctions obligations]?

Twitch is a crappy dump. As long as the views are spinning and the dough is coming in, they don't give a damn.

To be fair, one can wriggle out here by saying the streamer was tricked into advertising this crap. That is, in effect it was the advertiser that got banned, not the streamer.

Poor Russians. Everywhere they are being "conned, brazenly deceived, forced, simply compelled".

F***ing hell. Boobs in a swimming pool — not allowed, but fascism — fine.

A president who performed in Russia and the occupied territories can be elected, but performing at Eurovision — no. Double standards

Some foaming-at-the-mouth "patriots" proving to other "patriots" which of them is more patriotic

Some people knelt in their towns and villages to meet ATO soldiers killed in action. Meanwhile someone was shaking their backside in the "swamps". How strange, why would such a rule be introduced? 100% it's just bureaucrats deciding to throw sticks in the wheels of simple honest fighters on the variety-show front.

Poor little thing, I feel so sorry for her, we must definitely help her

Language squabbles aside, Russian stuff is just disgusting-disgusting for me to listen to. In their own closet let them listen even to the Russian anthem, but alone, not publicly crapping into everyone's ears.

The paradox is that Ani Lorak and Taisiya Povaliy have lots of songs in Ukrainian. So by listening to songs in Ukrainian, the money goes to these performers who live in Russia and pay taxes that are used to shell us. Poo-poo-poo.

I'm Croatian and I stopped listening to Russian music when the war started. I don't want them making money off me 🙄

I think it's the result of many years of Russian "propaganda" in Ukraine. It's very hard to give up what you grew up with, and the truth is that a lot of Ukrainians grew up with Russian music and films. My dad told me there was something similar in Croatia when the war with Serbia started. Many people still listened to their music and watched their films at first, then stopped completely. When the war ended, many started again. But personally I don't want to financially support people living in a country that is destroying your country and killing your people. Honestly I don't give a damn about their music, there are enough artists in the world who don't live there

I don't think about them. Mainly because it's a factor I can't influence. Some soldiers watch "Slovo patsana" and other Russian series. Who am I to reproach them?

If a person is defending the country, any nitpicking about their "civic position" is completely un- reasonable and stupid in essence. And generally, people quite often forget Article 10 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which makes any nitpicking on language grounds a purely personal and not always lawful initiative. […] Telling off local hooligans singing along to modern Russian songs on a speaker — OK, a good deed; but in a healthy society a citizen should not care at all what plays in another person's headphones or how they speak outside work.

I don't care what music a person listens to, I listen to such music myself, so I see no point condemning anyone for it. The main thing is not to play it on a speaker so everyone around hears it. There's a line here: listen to what you want, but don't force others to listen with you.

I haven't listened to anything Russian since the start of the full-scale invasion. Since then I've been discovering the vast Ukrainian music space, and in fact if a person has cotton wadding in their head you can't get rid of it, and as long as they enjoy listening to it somewhere in a little white room, let them stay there. If I hear such rubbish in the street, I can calmly turn to law enforcement under Article 15, Part 2 of the Law on Culture, which bans playing anything Russian in public. So I couldn't care less that vata listens to vata.

And would you like to file a complaint under Article 10 of the Constitution?

You don't know how legislation works, i.e. you don't know your rights, but you want them. Are you just as ready to go after Ukrainian-language music? When you hear it in a café, for example? Maybe French-language tunes annoy you? Or are you a follower of double standards after all?

I really don't care whether a song is in Russian or not. What matters to me is the song itself, and leave the language squabbles to politics. I have listened to and will keep listening to Russian-language songs, not because I'm a "traitor" but because I like these songs.

Honestly it's disrespect to all the Heroes defending our country. I can't say people must be forced to switch to something unfamiliar, but at least don't act tough and try to do something

Before the war I listened to all sorts, like "Melnitsa" or other Russian folk. Now I've mostly dropped it, but not because of "ugh, ugh, Russian". […] Until someone shows me, my attitude is neutral and I mostly don't care.

What exactly is the point of "back then there were Russian series, Russian music, all sorts of Sosedovs, and now we've freed the info space from them"? I didn't watch or listen to them long before all this "liberation from the collective Olya Polyakova". Whoever wanted to listened and watched then, and listens and watches now. I remember that under Yanukovych people went to the cinema — whoever wanted to saw Madagascar, whoever wanted to saw Three Bogatyrs. What's the problem anyway? Was all this worth it?) There was a choice, it's not as if everything was crammed only with Russian stuff. Want Russian, watch it; want French or American, fine. Same with books in shops — there were Ukrainian ones, there were Russian ones, choose whichever you like, as you personally wish.

Oh, a disciple of the "Whaaat's the diiifference" concept. Before 2014 Ukrainian culture, Ukrainian publishing, Ukrainian cinema and dubbing were in decline! There were almost no Ukrainian books, Russian was heard everywhere — on radio, on TV, and most importantly in the minds of the overwhelming majority of our fellow citizens.

It's not "what's the difference" at all, it's about personal choice. It reminds me of those vegetarians who smash windows in butcher shops. Still, I admit it's a primitive, down-to-earth point of view.

Sure, only Ukrainian-language books weren't that easy to find. I was looking for a hard-page alphabet book for my child, dreamed of a big bright one, and across the whole Petrivka market in Kyiv I found only one that met the basic criterion (hard pages), the size of an adult's palm. Meanwhile there were plenty of Russian alphabet books in the format I needed. So much for your great choice, choose what you like.

Wow. How old are you? I never had trouble with school books, and almost everything in the library was in Ukrainian. Harder to find was the fantasy I read as a child. There was much more Russian on the fiction market, which isn't surprising if you compare the scale of our printing houses then with theirs.

But he did sign the ban on Russian-language songs (even by Ukrainian performers).

Nobody will grab you by the backside like in Russia for listening to "extremist songs". Only public playing is banned, although I don't know what kind of person you'd have to be to listen to that crap in public

"Publicly" — they can pin that on you even if you're listening in your car and someone hears it. And the fact that people don't give a damn about these bans and keep listening to what they like — that's a fact

Sorry, but what difference does it make what an actor said in real life? There are legendary films with actors of controversial reputation, so what? Shut down The Avengers to fight drugs because Robert Downey Jr. used to be an addict? Feels like watching the Russian opposition with a hint of "vata". And of course nobody wanted to put themselves in his shoes at that moment

Because Zelensky paid this actor's salary and planned to keep paying it, filming more seasons. Also the filming was done in Russia with Zelensky's and Kvartal's money, and he paid taxes in Russia too.

Here comes a very unpopular opinion) This game should have a Russian localisation. It's like cutting German from the Nazis in Wolfenstein — that's nonsense, no? You're literally making a game about Russian Nazis in the Moscow metro and they speak Ukrainian?

I agree it would be fitting, but not while the people whose language they want to add to the game are killing Ukrainians.

They add Ukrainian to their big releases like Atomic Heart or Space Marine 2 and expect the same hypocrisy towards the Western audience from us. Unlike us, they can afford a certain apoliticism; we, with the events and mood in the country, can't — not without huge rows. Either way they'll cobble together their fan translations.

By apoliticism I mean indifference and purely commercial reasoning, even if in practice that's not the case. Commercially it would be logical to add Russian, but in our situation it risks angering the domestic audience.

IMHO the optimum would be if the protagonist and the characters and factions friendly to him spoke Ukrainian, and the enemies Russian. The fire in the swamps would only get stronger.

The studio is simply in a no-win situation. They'll be pecked to death from both sides whatever the voice-over. […] Hardly many Ukrainian voice actors would agree to dub in Russian — they still have to work afterwards, and our people would clearly see them as idiots after that.

A game about Moscow, about Russian culture, from a Russian writer — dunno, kind of cringe

They should have made Russian and then demonstratively donated all the money from sales to the Russian-speakers to the armed forces. The front would get help, and a bunch of Russians would be set up under the hammer)) As it is there's moral satisfaction of course, but material help to the guys in the trenches would be better.

Dunno, a game about Moscow without Russian is kind of rubbish. Same as a game about Kyiv without Ukrainian. Better then to make a game about Ukraine, or set Metro in the US somewhere. I'm totally for an authentic product, and after playing the previous Metros I certainly didn't become a fan of the Russian world one bit

Who knows, I think there should be a voice-over, as an element of soft power and of commercialising the project (that's what a business is for)

No, no need, soft power doesn't work on VPN-Russians — on the contrary, they like being treated "harsher" XD

You do understand the point is that the studio didn't spend money and time on their voice-over and text, and showed its attitude to them that way? What anyone else does is their business.

I thought so too, but then I remembered how many films there are about countries or events in them where the local language isn't used... so whatever. Yes, it would be authentic of course, but it is what it is

Different people shout, some don't care about localisation, some do. For example Ukrainians play Genshin without a Ukrainian localisation, yet in the Play Market reviews they give 1 star and write that the game is crap, there's no Ukrainian 😺

Not only the Russians, unfortunately. On the Metro subreddit a bunch of Westerners are whining about it.

I had a look around and tbh most of those "Westerners" really are typical Russian bots with boosted karma. Most real Westerners are discussing whether Ukrainian sounds similar enough to Russian, and whether the game with Ukrainian dubbing + English subs will give the same vibe as Russian dubbing + English subs.

They're as ridiculous as those who whine about the lack of a Ukrainian localisation. Don't like it — don't buy it. Or learn English

On the whole it's strange and breaks the setting a bit in my view. But I'm not a fan of the series anyway, so I don't care that there's no Russian.

Better to earn a few hryvnias off them than not to earn, fairly obviously.

Better to earn it from Westerners. By adding a localisation for them you only show you agree to cooperate with them. Besides, for voice-over the developer has to pay actors, i.e. Russians. Get it — Ukrainian developers paying Russians. They'll play anyway. They'll pirate it off torrents all the same.

Explain, non-ironically, what's the point of not selling them games? If Russians can pay for any game, why not milk them to the max and take the money, instead of catching lulz from the comments? Same for expensive brands. If they're not banned from buying foreign currency, better they buy imported goods and services than spend the money at home, right?

Ukrainian dubbing is slowly blossoming now, so there's a good chance new games will be much better. That the game is about Russians is a pity, but they've been nicking Ukrainian (and not only) motifs and stories all along and churning out something as their own without Ukrainians' participation, not to mention Ukrainian dubbing.